


we got a lovin' thing

by orphan_account



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: 1950s, Fluff, M/M, except theres no homophobia bc im gay and i said so, its more of a ......... 50s aesthetic than anything else really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 16:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14772978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They lock eyes, and he swears he recognizes him from somewhere - and then it clicks, and they both seem to know who the other is at the same time.“Hermann?”“Newton.”





	we got a lovin' thing

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this wayyy back in april, but i havent been posting a lot and i wanted to so here is This
> 
> title is from Grease by The Four Seasons

Newt likes to think he has a certain...aesthetic about him.

Okay, sure, he doesn’t fit the textbook look of a ‘greaser’; he’s too short and too freckly and has glasses and a degree or two, but he’s got the leather jacket and the styled hair and combat boots down pat, and that should count for  _ something _ . He also drives a motorcycle, which  _ would  _ make him seem cool if he didn’t look like he was stretching his legs to even reach the pedals in the first place. 

It also isn’t very ‘greaser’ of him to enjoy things like academia or milkshakes as much as he does, but sue him, they’re  _ enjoyable _ . 

So he feels a little self-conscious when he wanders into MIT’s library at nearly midnight in his dirt-caked boots and cuffed jeans; nearly everyone is staring at him (it’s not his fault that his heels land a little too heavily on the hardwood floors), and he really just wants to check out a book on salamanders so his mind will stop racing and he can sleep for the night. He wanders down one of the aisles in the non-fiction section and tries to avoid making eye contact. 

Unfortunately for him, there’s someone else already standing in the aisle he finds himself in, but it’d be weird to leave just because someone else is there, so he straightens his shoulders and wanders in with a carefully disinterested expression. 

More unfortunately, he can feel the guy staring at him. 

He tries to glance inconspicuously at him from the corner of his eye, but that’s hard to do when a) the person in question is already looking and b) when you have to turn at least a little because you’ve got a wire in your frames blocking the view. They lock eyes, and he  _ swears  _ he recognizes him from somewhere - and then it clicks, and they both seem to know who the other is at the same time.

“Hermann?”

“Newton.”

Newt chuckles awkwardly. “We were in the same math class back in high school, right?”

“Unfortunately.” Hermann replies. Newt notices that, since the last time he saw him, Hermann has started to walk with a cane. He doesn’t mention it.

“So,” Newt tries his best to lean casually against the bookcase, but it creaks dangerously under his weight, so he stands instead. “What brings you here on this fine Thursday night slash Friday morning?”

Hermann frowns. “Trying to clear my mind before my test tomorrow afternoon. Or later today, as you put it.” 

Newt nods. “Same here, kind of.” He pulls a book at random off of the shelf over Hermann’s shoulder. It turns out to be about turtles, which, while not what he was looking for, will probably do just fine. “Anything to get me to sleep, really.”

Hermann hums. After a beat of silence, he sets his shoulders. “Well, it was nice seeing you again, Newton.” He gives him a brief nod and then turns to leave. “Best of luck with your book.”

“Wait, wait!” Newt calls out to him before he can stop himself, or even lower his voice to a library-appropriate volume. “Do you wanna, uh,” He didn’t exactly come up with a plan for this, so he tugs at his jacket sleeve to give his hands something to do. “How about we go to, like, lunch, or something? Catch up? We haven’t talked in years, man.”

Hermann considers it for a second. If he’s anything like he was in high school, he’s making a mental list of pros and cons and weighing his options before he makes a decision. He sighs. “I don’t see why not.” He says, finally. “There’s a lovely place a few streets over from my dorm room. Lady’s Diner. Would you want to meet there for lunch?”

Newt can’t help the stupid, giddy grin that takes over his face. “Sure! I can meet you there at noon?”

“Please don’t be late.” Hermann says. With a smile so small and brief Newt thinks he may have imagined it, Hermann walks through the aisle and disappears around a corner.

 

Of course, because this is just Newt’s luck, he’s late. 

In his defense, he couldn’t get his motorcycle to start and then the traffic was terrible because there was a football game or something, he doesn’t really care - he cares that he’s  _ late _ , and Hermann could already have left out of frustration, and  _ shit  _ -

By some sort of miracle, when he finally makes it to Lady’s Diner’s semi-crowded lunch rush parking lot, he can see Hermann seated at one of the booths through the window. 

He doesn’t look happy, but at least he’s  _ there _ .

“Hermann!” Newt tries to keep his voice level (and fails) as he rushes inside. He slides into the seat opposite his old friend and launches himself into an explanation. “God, man, I’m so sorry, the traffic was awful, apparently there’s, like, a game or something-”

“Newton,” Hermann finally manages to get a word in, “it’s  _ fine _ .” He passes him a menu and opens his own. “What do you want to eat?”

Newt, still out of breath from the brief running spell and the long-winded explanation, just stares down at the menu and hopes it’ll read itself. He’s not even hungry. Maybe he shouldn’t have eaten such a big breakfast when he woke up at 9:30. 

The waitress comes over to take their orders a minute or so later, and Newt still hasn’t decided on what to get. 

Hermann places his order, and Newt panics, and just orders the same. 

“So, Newton,” Hermann says. “Are you in college yourself?”

Newt nods, taking a long drink from his glass of water. “I finished my biology degree last year, and I’m taking a gap year before I do engineering in the fall. I thought I wasn’t gonna do another degree, but I got bored.” He taps his unused straw against the table - a nervous tick he never managed to get rid of. 

Hermann doesn’t even have the decency to look impressed, just raises his eyebrows in surprise and cooly sips from his own drink. 

“What’re you studying?” Newt asks. 

“Engineering and applied sciences.” Hermann says. 

Newt hums awkwardly and doesn’t know where to go from there. Neither of them make any move to continue the conversation from that point, so they sit in silence until the waitress brings them their food. Apparently, Hermann (and therefore, Newt) ordered chicken and fries.

“So…” Newt draws out the word, his mouth full. “Whatcha been up to since high school?”

“College.”

“...Right.” Newt frowns and munches quietly on his food. He’s tapping along with the beat of the song playing from the jukebox when an idea pops into his head. “Oh! You wanna go see that new Godzilla movie with me after your test?” 

Hermann frowns. “Godzilla?”

“Yeah!” Newt grins despite himself and tries not to fling ketchup off of the end of his fry with his gesturing. “Basically a giant lizard attacking Tokyo, it’s awesome, I saw the Japanese version from a couple years ago and they just came out with an American version, which isn’t gonna be exactly the same, but it’s the one I’m talking about.” He drums his hands excitedly on the surface of the table. “We can go to the drive-in, if you want!” 

Newt thinks he sees Hermann blush, but that’s probably his imagination or some wishful thinking or  _ something _ , he’s not gonna categorize  _ that  _ now, so he ignores it. Hermann clears his throat. “I - that sounds...agreeable.” 

“Then it’s a date!” 

 

Of course, Newt doesn’t exactly have a car, so they end up borrowing Hermann’s friend’s Mako’s dark blue pickup for the evening. Hermann drives, because Newt can only drive a motorcycle, and they go to a drive-in theater set up in an open field just outside of town. 

“Man, you have no  _ idea  _ how excited I am for this.” Newt grins. He hands Hermann money to pay for their ticket and they find a parking space on the far left side of the lot. “I saw the original and fell in love with it, it was  _ fantastic _ .” 

Hermann hums and smiles softly at Newt from the driver’s seat, and Newt’s heart does a weird stutter, and he wonders vaguely when exactly he got so nervous about this. He glances at Hermann from the passenger’s side and notices his pristine shirt and nice sweater, and worries the hem of his tattered leather jacket and wonders if he should’ve dressed nicer for this. He probably - no,  _ definitely  _ \- should’ve dressed nicer for this. A plain white button-up shirt and dirt-caked boots doesn’t exactly say  _ I care very much about how this date goes _ . 

He at least thanks his past self for seeing this movie beforehand, or otherwise he’d not pay any attention to Hermann at all. 

The opening credits begin to play, and he can’t help but giggle excitedly and tap his feet. Hermann gives him a tired, but genuine, smile, and Newt feels his face grow hot. He shrugs off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves because the rest of him is getting hot, too, which is a sure sign that he’s getting anxious. 

“You got  _ tattoos? _ ” Hermann says. It makes Newt jump - he’d been focused on the movie. He stares down at his arms like he’s seeing them for the first time. 

“Yeah, I did.” Newt says. A ball of dread settles in his stomach. “Do you - do you not…?”

“They’re...intriguing.” Hermann relents. He picks up Newt’s left arm by the wrist and takes a closer look, and Newt ignores the way his heart jumps into his throat. “If not a little garish.” 

Newt swallows. “Well.” 

Satisfied, Hermann sets his arm back down against the center console, and, seemingly as an afterthought, tangles their fingers together. 

Newt, as much as he wants to, can’t focus on the movie. 

They sit quietly through the first half hour, and Newt can’t focus for the life of him because Hermann is stroking his thumb over the back of Newt’s hand like  _ that  _ and giving him sideways glances and smiles like  _ that _ , and Newt really  _ can’t take it _ , and when Hermann finally leans in to kiss him Newt thanks his past self, again, for seeing this movie in advance. 

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: the diner they go to is heavily inspired by my own local 50s themed diner, named, fittingly, gipsy's. i just prefer not to use that word too much, so lady's diner it is. 
> 
> thanks for reading!!


End file.
